NA.TUBALIST IN INDIA. 129 



wards of half-a-mile in length, may be observed pursuing the 

 same course ; their loud gabblings, and those of ducks and 

 geese, and the harsh '' guggle" of the sand-grouse, are often 

 heard overhead at night. It is a busy time in the- bird- 

 world when the cold months are setting in on the north- 

 western frontier of British India. 



In May, as soon as the hot weather appears, nearly all 

 the birds of the North-western Provinces retire to their various 

 summer quarters, and only a few permanent residents remain. 

 The raven, Indian jackdaw, govind kite, and sparrow, are 

 about the chief. The raven hunts about houses, or sits 

 gaping and croaking on the roof-tops at mid-day in a tempera- 

 ture of 130° Fahrenheit and upwards, whilst his more know- 

 ing companion, the Indian jackdaw, seeks the shade of the 

 Persian lilac or the castor-oil plant. The kite is seen soaring 

 aloft over barracks and bazaars, or indeed anywhere at all 

 likely to supply refuse. Sparrows* breed in June and July 

 among the thatch of our verandahs, and the Indian roller in 

 the chimney-top. After a sultry day it is usual to see the wire- 

 tailed swallow skimming over the plains, and by the side of 

 pools and streams a solitary green sandpiper {^Totanus ochropus) 

 is not rare. I have also shot the brown-backed heron (Ardeola 

 leucoptera) in such situations. The black ibis {G. papillosiis), 

 with its red crown, is seen flying, along with the rooks and 

 European jackdaws, during the cold months ; and besides, on 

 the marshes about, the great and little bitterns, with the spotted 

 rail, are not uncommon. Of the other European birds may 

 be noticed the short-eared owl, moor buzzard, the pale harrier 

 (Circus swaiThsonii), the cormorant, ruff, and smew, all coming 

 and departing with the winter months. 



* This is P. domestieus ; the Spanish sparrow P. salicarius is found in 

 Kohaut, on the west frontier of the Punjaub. 



IC 



